Galway makes top ten for friendlinessGalway has been voted one of friendliest city in the world after some 128,000 readers of Condé Nast Traveler ranked Galway sixth.
The City of Tribes beat tourist hotspot Krakow in Poland, and Bruges in Belgium, but Dublin managed an almighty third place, sitting behind Charlestown, South Carolina, and Sydney, Australia.
"It is interesting, and it is a really eclectic listings of places," said a spokesperson for the city council. "We are delighted when we get these visitor-generated surveys. They are not necessarily the most scientific, but they are nice to get, and they add to the general feeling that people have about Galway.
"We have the European Green Leaf awards for 2017, the European Region of Gastronomy for 2018, and the European Capital of Culture 2020. All of these are great to get, and what they do is confirm the positivity about Galway, but also our ambition.We like being the best little city in Europe."
In the travel magazine, the caption under Galway city's photo read, 'Just look at this city - it's hard not to be charmed'.
It then goes on to state that the Galway streets are enchanted with live music, a fantastic atmosphere, and of course, a warm welcome.
"I am delighted to see two of our cities appear in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler survey of friendly cities around the globe," said CEO of Tourism Ireland Niall Gibbons. "It is another well-deserved accolade for Dublin and Galway.
"Again and again, our research shows us that the friendliness of our people is one of our unique selling points.
"It is the warm welcome and the ‘craic’ here that resonates with our overseas visitors and makes our cities, and the island of Ireland, such a great choice for a short break, or holiday."
Condé Nast Travelers' readers named Newark, New Jersey, the world's unfriendliest city so best avoid that 5,000km trip.
